Berberine alleviates visceral hypersensitivity in rats by altering gut microbiome and suppressing spinal microglial activation.

ABSTRACT: Accumulating evidence shows that agents targeting gut dysbiosis are effective for improving symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). However, the potential mechanisms remain unclear. In this study we investigated the effects of berberine on the microbiota-gut-brain axis in two rat models of visceral hypersensitivity, i.e., specific pathogen-free SD rats subjected to chronic water avoidance stress (WAS) and treated with berberine (200 mg· kg^-1 ·d^-1, ig, for 10 days) as well as germ-free (GF) rats subjected to fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) from a patient with IBS (designated IBS-FMT) and treated with berberine (200 mg· kg^-1 ·d^-1, ig, for 2 weeks). Before the rats were sacrificed, visceral sensation and depressive behaviors were evaluate

SUBMITTER: Zhang JD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8563748 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature